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Chautauqua^ 



Literary and Scientific 



GRADUATE COURSE 



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English Histoff-arifl 



iterature, 



UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 



Professor H. B. Adams, Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins University. 
Professor W. D. McClintock, A.M., of Wells College. 

Professors of History and English in Chautauqua College. 



Suggestions in oAid of Treading, 



CHAUTAUQUA PRESS. 



1880. 



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THE LIBRAHV 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINOTOH 

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General Directions for Work. 

. READ CAREFULLY. 

-^ 

To the Student: 

The following pages of this pamphlet contain sixteen lessons^ 
two for each month, covering the first year's work of the special course in 
English History and Literature. 

These lessons are assigned to a period of eight months only, so that 
students may have ample time for reviews and for the study of recommended 
books, while those who begin late will be able to complete the year's work 
without undue haste. 

As in all the special courses of the C. L. S. C, there is no absolute limit 
of time for the completion of the work, but students are urged to cultivate 
regular habits of study, and as far as possible, to finish their work within the 
prescribed time. 

Students applying for the special examinations, will receive instructions, 
concerning this part of the work, toward the close of the year. 

The following general directions will enable the student to use wisely^ 
the lessons offered: 

I. — Study the lesson carefully in accordance with the "suggestions" 
given, writing out in a separate note book the answers to these suggestions. 
2. — At the end of each lesson close all books and do the work called 
for in the " tests and reviews." These may be written into papers as elabor- 
ate as time affords. Local circles can also use these " tests and reviews" as, 
topics for essays or discussions. 

The required readings for each lesson are as follows : 
LESSON I.— Green's "Short History of the English People."' Chap. I. Sees, r 
Oct. 1-15. and 2. 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. 1. Introduction. 
" Typical Selections from English Writers," pp. 1-43. 
Minto's "Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 
The Chautauquan for October * 

LESSON IL— Green's " Short History of the English People." Chap. I. Sees. 3 
Oct. 15-31. and 4. 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 1-31. 
" Typical Selections from English Writers," pp. 44-120. 
Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 
The Chautauquan for October. 

LESSON III. — Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. I. Sees. 5 
Nov. 1-15. and 6. 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 31-56. 
"Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 121-209. 
Minto's "Manual of English Prose Literature." introduction. 
The Chautauquan for November. 

LESSON IV.— Green's "Short History of the English People.' Chap. U. Sees. 
Nov. 15-30. 1-4. 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 56-81. 
" Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 210-297. 
Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 
The Chautauquan for November. 



* The required readings in The Chautauquan for students of this course will consist of two articles each 
month on topics of current interest in English life and literature, immediately following the regular C. L. S. 
C. required readings. As circumstances prevented the publication of these articles in the October Chautau- 
quan, they will begin this year with the November number. 



1. :. SSON v.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. II, Sees. 5 
1 vc. 1-15. and 6. 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 91-113. 
" Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 298-383. 
Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 
The Chautauquan for "December. 

LESSON VI.— Green's "Short History of the English People.'" Chap. II. Sees. 
Dec. 15-31. 7-9. 

Stubbs' " The Early Plantagenets." Chaps. I-IV. 
Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 129-158. 
"Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 384-448. 
Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 
The Chautauquan for December. 

LESSON VII.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. III. Sees. 
Jan. 1-15. 1-4. 

Stubbs' "The Early Plantagenets." Chaps. V-VII. 
Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 203-233. 
Scott's Ivanhoe. 

The Chautauquan for January. 

LESSON VIII.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. III. Sees. 
Jan. 15-31. 5-7. 

Stubbs' "The Early Plantagenets." Chaps. VlII-IX. 
• Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 233-262. 

Scott's Ivanhoe. Chaps. XXII-XLIV. 

The Chautauquan for January. 

LESSON IX.— Green's "Short History of the English People. Chap. IV. Sees, i 
Feb. 1-15. and 2. 

Stubbs' " The Early Plantagenets." Chaps. X-XII. 
Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 275-305. 
The Chautauquan for February. 
LESSON X.— Green's " Short History of the English People." Chap. IV. Sees. 3 
Feb. 15-28. and 4. 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 305-340. 
The Chautauquan for February. 

LESSON XL— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. IV. Sees. 
Mar. I -1 5. 5 and 6. 

Ward's " The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 341-364. 
The Chautauquan for March. 

LESSON XII.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. V. Sees, i 
Mar. 15-31. and 2. 

Ward's " The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 394-423. 
The Chautauquan for March. 
LESSON XIII.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. V. Sees. 3 
April 1-15. and 4. 

Poole's " Wycliffe and Movements for Reform." 
Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 424-449. 
The Chautauquan for April. 

LESSON XIV.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. V. Sees. 5 
April 15-30. and 6. 

Poole's " Wycliffe and Movements for Reform." 
Ward's " The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 450-466. 
The Chautauquan for April. 

LESSON XV.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. VI. Sees, i 
May 1-15 and 2. 

Poole's " WyclifTe and Movements for Reform." 
Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 486-509. 
The Chautauquan for May. 
LESSON XVI.— Green's "Short History of the English People." Chap. VI. Sec. 3. 
May 15-31. Poole's "Wycliffe and Movements for Reform." 

Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 510-525, and 558-565. 
The Chautauquan for May. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 5 

LESSON I. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's "Short History of the English People," Chap. I., Sees, i and 2. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

T. The " Short History" is offered as a guide and basis for our historical study of the 
English people. It is an advanced text-book — a manual for more than a thousand years 
of crowded history. Consequently, important facts, personages and principles are 
often disposed of by a brief clause or paragraph. This necessitates careful and constant 
thought on the part of the reader. The volume is not offered simply for historical 
reading ; it must not be approached merely for the interest of its narrative ; it must 
be studied as comparative history. Its narrative is necessarily disconnected, and a 
paragraph of one page must be compared with one of another, and some of its pages 
with the pages of other volumes. If the volume be thought through on every page, and 
compared with knowledge gathered from other fields, the study may result in a good 
understanding of the leading matters of English history. 

2. Use pencil freely, and annotate your books. Interleave when necessary. Read the 
first two sections slowly and thoughtfully, noting what seems to you the most impor- 
tant subjects of which they treat. Reread them more rapidly, gathering any points of 
interest which may have escaped you in the first reading. Remember that review is 
the mother of knowledge, 

3. In your interleaved notes leave space under every " head," or subject, for subsequent 
entries. When other references to the same subject occur, note them in their place. 
Try to get together all your notes on any one subject which you think important enough 
for special study. Following and interleaving the book in this way, you will be able 
to see all the parts of a subject in their relations. 

4. Study especially the nature of the English Conquest. How did it differ from that of the 
Frank in Gaul or of the Lombard in Italy ? Add to your notes on this subject from sup- 
plementary reading, 

5. What does the author mean by saying, " liritain became England. In Britain alone 
Rome died into a vague tradition of the past? " 

6. Note the description of the first European home of the English people ; their land sys- 
tem ; their early forms of justice, and their social conditions. SeeTaine's *' History of 
English Literature," referred to in supplementary reading. 

7. Study the early Saxon Witan, and the effect of the English removal to Britain on the in- 
stitution of kingship. 

8. Make for yourself a summary of the most important facts and dates of which the sec- 
tions treat. 

9. Measure your knowledge by the tests. 

Ill, Tests and Reviews. 

1. Name the "three homes of the English people." 

2. What were the hloodiuiie and the weregeld ? 

3. What was the nature of the '' village community " among the early Germans ? 

4. What Roman writer gives us the first and best picture of our Teutonic ancestors ? 
Quote some of his views. 

5. Lescribe the religion of the English in Sleswick. 

6. When and by whom was Britain first made known to civilization ? 

7. What was the nature o^ Agricola's work in Britain ? When ? 

8. Who were the Picts ? 

9. When and why were the Roman legions withdrawn from Britain ? 

10. Significance of Ebbsfleet; Isle of Thanet ; Aylesfdrd ; of the date 449. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Read the first part of Mr. Freeman's article on "England," in the Encyclop,cdia 
Britannica. 

2. Creasy's " English Constitution," Chaps. I and II. 



6 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

3. See Taine's picture of the early Saxons in Chap. I. of his " History of Enghsh Litera- 
ture." You will find here a brilliant description of the early Saxons, the Angles and 
the Jutes, and the lowlands on the North Sea from which they came. " Picture in this 
foggy clime, amid hoarfrost and storm, in these marshes and forests, half-naked sav- 
ages, a kind of wild beasts, fishers and hunters, even hunters of men ; these are they. 
Saxons, Angles, Jutes, Frisians. Later on, Danes, who during the fifth and ninth 
■centuries, with their swords and battle-axes, took and kept the island of Britain. . , . 

Huge white bodies, cold-blooded, with fierce blue eyes, reddish flaxen hair; ravenous 
stomachs, filled with meat and cheese, heated by strong drinks— these are to this day 
the features which descent and climate preserve in the race, and these are what the 
Roman historians discovered in their former country." — Tame. 

4. For the early history of Britain, see the first part of Elton's "Origins of English History. " 

5. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. I., Chap. \. entire, and 
Part I. of Chap. IIL 



(b) L Required Reading in Literature. 

1. Ward's " The English Poets," Vol. I. Introduction. 

2. "Typical Selections from English Writers," pp. 1-43. 

3. Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. English Poets 

a. Read Arnold's Essay through quickly, but thoughtfully. Then read it slowly, 
making an outline of the points in the argument. 

b. Mr. Arnold's s'tatements concerning religion reflect his personal theological opinions. 
Pass them by as untrue or half true, and apart from the critical purpose of the essay. 

€. Determine what he means by the statement that poetry is " a criticism of life." 

d. What are the two false estimates of poetry ? How would Arnold correct these ? 

e. Memorize the selections given on pp. xxvi-xxvii. 

/. Emphasize, and state in your own words, Arnold's teaching concerning "high truth 

arid high seriousness." 
,g. Wherein lies Chaucer's truth of substance and wherein his excellence of style ? What 

is Chaucer's great failing ? 
h. State the considerations by which Arnold shows that Dryden and Pope are not 

poetic classics, 
i. In what class of his poems is Burns at his best ? What is his great limitation ? 
J. There are two classes of critics— one like Mr. Arnold, who judge poetry from its 

matter, the other who judge it from its form and style. As you proceed, learn and 

record the merits of each class. 

2. English Prose. 

a. Read Minto's Introduction through, to get the general idea of the treatise. Then 
study carefully the remarks on Vocabulary. 

b. Make an outline of the things to determine in 'an author's vocabulary. Keep this 
constantly at hand, adding to it when new principles are learned. 

£. The introductions to the separate selections are to be carefully read, making notes of 
all points of criticism on the author's style of work. Then the selections are to be 
read with these criticisms in mind. 

d. Take a paragraph from each author given, and set down one hundred words. How 
many different words do you find? How does this compare with a similar amount 
from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, and from one of Carlyle's Essays ? 

e. Count the number of Latin and Anglo-Saxon words in 'the same paragraphs, and 
state the proportion. 

f. Notice all words now obsolete or used with different meanings. Select all specially 
expressiveforms, particularly of pure English words. Use these in speech and writing. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1 What does Arnold conceive to be the future of poetry? Why? 

2 State how Arnold would give us the real estimate of poetry. Do you think this an easy 

and an adequate method ? 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 7 

3. Define the critic's idea of high truth and high seriousness, and state how these apply 

in Chaucer and Burns. 
'4. What are the three most important points to study in an author's vocabulary ? 

5. What is the general proportion of Latin and English words in this early English prose ? 

6. What proportion of words in this prose seems to have become obsolete or to have 

changed in meaning ? 

IV. ReCOMxM ENDED READING. 

1. Gummere's "Handbook of Poetics." 

2. Ruskin's "Modern Painters," Vol. Ill, Chap. I. 

3. Arnold's Preface to Wordsworth's Poems. " [Golden Treasury Series.]' 
4 EncyclopcEdia Britantiica, article on Poetry. 

5. Saintsbury's " English Prose Style." 

6. Spenser's "The Philosophy of Style." 



LESSON II. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's " Short History," Chapter I., Sees. 3 and 4. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

c. Make a careful study of the map of Britain after the English Conquest. Fix in mind 
the chief kingdoms of the island, noticing the order of their supremacy. 

2. Be careful to notice the comparative references to Prankish and general Continental history. 

3. Gather into your notes for a special study all you can find in this lesson on the early 
Celtic Church. See Green's " The Making of England," p. 281, et seq. " For a time 
It seemed that the course of the world's history was to be changed; as if the older Cel- 
tic race that Roman and German had driven before them had turned to the moral con- 
quest of their conquerors ; as if Celtic and not Latin Christianity was to mold the des- 
tinies of the churches of the west." But "with the fall of Northumbria and the rise 
of the overlordship of Mercia, the followers of lona and Columba gave way to the 
spiritual headship of Canterbury." ("Short History.") Give an historical analysis 
of these selections. 

4. Study in the same way Augustine and the Roman Missionaries. Notice the significance 
of a sentence like this : '• The civilization, arts, letters, which had fled at the English 
Conquest returned with the Roman faith." 

5. Did the Roman law take root in England ? 

6. Note the beginnings of English literature. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 
r. State the relative position of the English kingdoms in the Eighth Century. 

2. What was the Prankish policy of Pepin and Charlemagne toward the warring English 
factions ? & & 

3. Describe the work of Columba and the Celtic missionaries. Where is lona? Lindis- 
farne ? 

4. What is meant by the second landing at Ebbsfleet? 

5 What Roman Pontififpromoted the conversion of England to Latin Christianity ? 

6 State the place and time of Caedmon in English letters. 

7. Describe the work of Baeda as scholar and historian. 

8. What Mercian negotions may be said to represent the first English diplomacy ? 

9. Describe the rise of Egbert of Wessex. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Continue the article in the Britantiica. 

2. Read Part I, Chapter II. in Myers' Medieval and Modern History on " The Conver- 
sion of the Barbarians." Also pp. 23-27 of the same volume. 

3. Palgrave's History of the Anglo-Saxons, and Lappenberg's History of England undet 
the Anglo-Saxon Kings, are valuable references on this period. 

4. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. I., Chap. III., Sees. 2, ^. 
4 and t. of Part I. 



8 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

(b) I. Required Readino in Literature. 

1. Ward's " The English Poets " Vol. 1., pp. 1-31. 

2. "Typical Selections from English Writers," pp. 44-120. 

3. Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 

IL Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. English Poets. . ^ 1 • r n' • 
[Note.— The Essays and Selections supply all the information needed in toJJowing 

these Suggestions.] 

a. Why may Chaucer be called the first Enghsh poet? 

b. State what French and what Italian literature affected Chaucer. 

c. Make notes on Chaucer's treatment of nature and natural objects. Does he write of 
landscapes or of separate elements— sky, air, clouds, flowers, birds, seasons, etc. ? 

d. Our critic says that (i) skill in observation, and (2) sympathy with men, are needed 
in dramatic writing. How did Chaucer illustrate these principles ? 

e. Most of Chaucer's words can be found in the modern dictionaries. In reading, 
judge their meaning by the sound rather than the spelling. 

/. A general suggestion on pronounciation is this : Chaucer's meter is practically per- 
fect. If you will read the lines metrically, it will show yon where to place the em- 
phasis, and how to divide the syllables properly. 

o- As you read, make notes on (i) the words— their English or foreign derivation, ana 
the average number of new ones to the hundred; (2) the rhythm— how good, what 
makes it so ; (3) the imagery— how much, what kind, how effective. 

h. What is noteworthy in the description of the birds' singing in our first extract ? 

2. English Prose. 

a. In Minto's Introduction, study the section on Periodic Structure. 

b. State the advantages and disadvantages of this structure. Illustrate each from any 
writing at hand. • 1 :> 

c What proportion of periodic sentences do our early prose writers employ f 

d. Select from the writers included in this lesson six examples of obscurity or awkward- 
ness caused by failure to use the periodic structure. 

e. Try to state for yourself the central thought of each essay. In the more complex 
selections make an outline of the main thoughts in order. _ 

/. Some of these selections, such as Bacon's Essay on Adversity and on Poesy, are liter- 
ary in subject and treatment. The sermons and biographies are technical m subject. 
But a feature of this early prose is that such subjects were treated in a hterary style, 
a feature which gradually disappears from English prose. Determine concerning 
each selection : (1) its subject— whether literary or technical; (2) its treatment— 
whether purely literary, purely technical, or a combination of both. Use this sugges- 
tion in all succeeding lessons. ,. , ■, /- • , 

g. Is the general tone of the subjects here treated grave or hght, deep or superficial, 
practical or theoretical? 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

a What results in his own writings had Chaucer's wide readings and borrowings ? 

b. What, according to Ward, are the two gifts of a poet, and how far was Chaucer pos- 
sessed of them ? Tn 1- u 1 

c. Mention five noticeable things in Chaucer's language. Illustrate these by examples. 
What is his greatest power in the use of words ? , r j 

d. What good and what bad result of the absence of the periodic structure can be found 
in the Essays of this lesson ? , , • , u- * • 

e. Make a short paper on the styles of treating literary and technical subjects in our 

/. Do you^ notice any improvement in prose writing from Latimer to Hobbes ? In what 
way does it appear ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Ward's " Chaucer," English Men of Letters Series. 

2. "Chaucer's Prologue,''^ ed. by Morris. 

3. Lowell's Essay on Chaucer, " My Study Windows." 

4. Church's " Bacon," English Men of Letters Series. 

5. Whipple's "The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth." 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 9 

LESSON III. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 
I. Green, Chap. I., Sees. 5 and 6. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1 . You now begin the study of England under the west Saxon kings, covering the period 
from 828 A. D. to 1066 A. D. Learn the names of the English kings in their order, 

2. The chief interest in these sections will be found in 

a. The incursions of the Danes. 

b. The story of Alfred the Great. 

c. The work of the priest-statesman Dunstan. The first point marks the contact 
of the Northmen with England ; the second suggests England's first great civil 
ruler, the growth of roy alt)-, the increasing affection of the Saxons for their king 
and their laws, and the royal patronage of letters ; the last marks the rise of 
ecclesiastical statesmanship — an influence which you will continue to observe till 
the death of Laud, 1645. 

3. Connect the "Danes" with the "Normans," of whom you may read in Johnson. 

4. Notice Alfred's work as law-giver and scholar; the relation of the Saxon laws to the 
later English Constitution. 

5. Note the decline of the English serf. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Describe Dunstan's influence on the English monasteries. 

2. In what laws are found the beginnings of the English Constitution ? 

3. Is the institution of trial by jury of Saxon or of Norman origin ? 

4. State the chief services of King Alfred to English literature. 

5. What were the causes of the disappearance of serfdom in England ? 

6. Where do we find the beginnings of England's naval power ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Read Chap. I.-IX. of Johnson's " Normans in Europe." (Epoch Series.) 

2. Read Creasy's " English Constitution " on the Saxon Laws. 

3. Continue the study of the article in the Britannica. 

4. Myer's " Mediaeval and Modern History," pp. 124-133. 

5. Pauli's " Life of Alfred," is the best for the study of this great king. 

6. " Pictures of Old England," by Pauli, will afford interesting sketches of English life at 
this period. 

7. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. I., Chap. III., Parts II. 
and III. 

(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 

1. Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 31-56. 

2. "Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 121-209. 

3. Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 
a. Continue the notes on Chaucer's treatment of nature. Which of the elements sug- 
gested does he treat oftenest and best ? 
h. He treats the simple, obvious things in nature, and without great detail. Show this 
by his descriptive adjectives. 

c. Does Chaucer place his own moods and feelings on nature ? Cf. Shelley's Ode to the 

West Wind. 

d. Does he seem to attribute to nature such personality and powers as Wordsworth 
does in Tintem Abbey ? 

e. Make a list of all words and phrases expressing color in the poems read. How much 
is there, and what color predominates ? 



lO ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

/. Everything human interested Chaucer. Show this by his representation of all kind& 

of people, and the manners and customs of his own times. 
g. How nearly complete is his list of the classes of people in his day ? 
h. Set down many examples of Chaucer's humor. Is it kindly, is it broad or keen ? 
2. English Prose. 

a. Study in Minto the work on the sentence remaining from the last lesson. 

I). Emphasize chiefly the work on the balanced sentence, and the place of the important 

words. 

c. Find in the reading six violations of the principle of unity in the sentence. Correct 
these. 

d. Have you found nature used as a subject of prose before Walton ? In what does his 
treatment of nature resemble that of Chaucer ? 

e. In the extracts from Browne, try to find illustrations of the seven important points in 
Coleridge's criticism of his work. 

/. In the introduction to the selections from Milton, five specifications are quoted from 
Hallam. Find in the selections passages justifying each of these. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Make a short paper out of your notes on Chaucer's treatment of nature. 

2. State how thoroughly Chaucer represents the life of his day. 

3. "What view of human life and character does Chaucer's humor lead him to give ? 

4. What fault in the length of their sentences did our early prose writers frequently com- 
mit j" Illustrate from Walton. 

5. Compare the selections from Clarendon with a chapter from Green in your lesson in 
History. Speak of a few differences you notice in their methods of writing history. 

6. What qualities give Milton's prose a literary as well as a polemical value ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Shairp's " On the Poetic Interpretation of Nature." 

2. Fleay's " Guide to Chaucer and Spenser." 

3. Chaucer's Poetical Works, Ed. by Gilman, 3 vols. 

4. Partison's "Milton," English Men of Letters Series. 

5. Milton's, Areopagitica, Clarendon Press Edition. 



LESSON IV. 

(a) Required Reading in History. 

I. Green's "Short History," Chap. II., Sees. 1-4. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

We begin now the story of England under foreign rule, a period including the two cen- 
turies from Ethelred II. to John, from 1013 to 1216. We study in this period the Dane^ 
the Norman, and the Angevin. 

1. Note the influence of the foreigner upon the national unification of England. 

2. Notice the same influence in the rise of the middle class — subsequently a powerful in- 
fluence in English political life. 

3. Notice the permanent Danish influence on England, and the results of the Danish in- 
vasions. 

4. Keep distinct in mind the separate lines of kings, the time and place of such names as 
Cmct, Edmund Ironside and William. 

5. Significance of Edward the Confessor, and his time. 

6. Review carefully the life of William the Conqueror and his characteristics, " the most 
important man in the eleventh century." 

7. Review, in Johnson and Green, the history of the Normans in Normandy and in south- 
ern Europe. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. II 

You will observe the chief characteristic of this energetic people — easy assimilation with 
the people among whom they lived. "In Russia they became Russians, in France, 
Frenchmen, in England, Englishmen," laying aside their own manners, habits, institu- 
tions, and ideas. 

8. Study the results of the Battle of Hastings, or Senlac, a landmark in English history. 

9. Do not fail to notice the scholastic movements of this century, the significance of Lan- 
franc and Anselm. 

10. Do not neglect the historical geography of England. 

Til. Tests and Reviews. 

1. What was the chief influence in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries in welding the 
Saxon kingdoms into a single nation? 

2. Describe the Danish project of empire, and the services of Cnut to England. 

3. What traces of the Danish invasions are noticeable in England ? What was the 
"Danegeld?" Where is ''Danelagh?" 

4. What can you say of the " good laws of Edward the Confessor?" 

5. Were the Normans o( nearer kin to the English than to the French ? 

6. What caused the Norse migrations ? 

7. Contrast the conduct of Cnut as warrior with his conduct as a civil ruler. 

8. Where is Bee? Senlac? Pavia ? Normandy? For what is each noted ? 

9. What pretense of legitimacy did the Conqueror make in claiming the English throne ? 

10. What are the Anglo-Saxon chronicles ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Read Chap. X., XL, XII., of Johnson's " Normans in Europe." 

2. Study the article in the Britannica on the period of the Conquest. 

3. Freeman's "Short History of the Norman Conquest," is the best short sketch of this 
event. 

4. Selections from Palgrave's " History of Normandy and England." 

5. See the articles on " The Normans " and on " Sicily " in the Britannica. 

6. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. I., Chaps. IV. and V. and 
Chap. VII., Sees, i, 2 and 3 of Part I. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 



1. Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 56-81. 

2. "Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 210-297. 

3. Minto's " Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 

a. Read the extracts from the Prologue to see Chaucer's art in character-drawing:— as to 
(I), clearness; (2), vividness; (3), variety; (4), truthfulness ; (5), sympathy. 

b. How many phases of love are treated in these extracts ? How true to life is he in 
this ? 

c. Write out in prose the character of the clerk, using only the details given by Chaucer. 

d. Is Chaucer's general tone moral? 

e. Do you find any sentiment or manners that would be bad to us ? Would you natur- 
ally expect it here ? 

/. How much attention does Chaucer give to religion or to religious people ? What is 

his general view of them ? 
g. Are there here any long studies in spiritual experience, as in Shakespeare's Macbeth ? 
h. Make note of all short saws and practical philosophy. Cf. 

" Losse of catel may recovered be. 
But losse of tyme shendeth us, — " 

I. Memorize the Goode Coiinseil of Chaucer. 



12 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

2. English Prose. 

a. Study in Minto the remarks on Figures of Speech. 

b. As you read the extracts from Taylor, notice (i) how perfectly clear he is, (2) how 
his style is heightened to us by a certain rareness in words and quaintness of phrases, 
and (3) how full it all is of noble thinking on man and life. 

c. Mark all similes and metaphors in Taylor. Are they numerous ? 

d. Are the similes elaborate or simple ? 

e. Whence does he draw his figures ? 

f. What are the two points in Temple's English said to be noteworthy ? 

g. Make a short outline of the several points in Johnson's criticism of Dryden's style. 
Look for proofs of each. 

h. Do you notice many poetical devices in Dryden's prose ? 

i. Does he seem to you (i) clear, (2) vigorous, (3) pedantic, (4) smooth and har- 
monious ? 
j. What is Locke's place in the development of English philosophy ? 
k. His language is said to be (i) simple, (2) racy, but (3) inexact. Is this true? 
/. Select one simile from Taylor, one from Dryden, and one from Locke, and compare 
them: (i) for source, and (2) for elaborateness. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Give a picturesque prose description of the company of the Prologue, as it is ready to 
start to Canterbury. 

2. Make a complete description of the Persoun, using only the details given by the poet. 

3. How good is Chaucer in drawing the characters of women ? 

4. As if advising one in the reading of Chaucer, make an outline of ten things noticeable 
in him. 

5. Make a short paper on the variety, source, and literary value of the figures of speech in 
Taylor. 

6. Which of the writers in this lesson is most interesting from the view-point of litera- 
ture ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Browne's " Chaucer's England." 

2. Saintsbury's " Dryden," English Men of Letters Series. 

3. Johnson's " Lives oi the Poets" — on Dryden. 

4. Lowell's Essay on Dryden, " Among my Books," Vol.!. 

5. Fowler's " Locke," English Men of Letters Series. 



LESSON V. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

I. Green's "Short History," Chap, II., Sees. 5 and 6. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

The sections under review in this lesson call attention to the completion of the Con- 
queror's work, and the subsequent rule of the Norman kings. Study : 

1. The Feudal System. This topic requires supplementary reading. 

2. William's attitude toward the Church; influence of Lanfranc. 

3. The Land System of the king; forms of taxation. From these sources came the 
wealth in which lay the chief strength of the royal power. 

4. The system of centralization by which England for the first time became a nation. 

5. The purpose and service of the Domesday Book. 

6. The Curfew and Forest Laws. 

In all these you will notice the executive ability of the Conqueror in checking the oppo- 
sition of the nobles; how he kept in subjection the Saxons by his feudal military system, 
and maintained the authority of the Crcwn against the Norm.an lord by his use of the 
Saxon courts of the hundred and the shire. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. I3 

7. The Charter of Henry I. 

8. The process of blending Saxon and Norman. The revival of the English 
character. 

9. The influence of the rising boroughs and towns upon liberty. 

10. Usurpation in the succession of the Norman kings. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Name the various forms of feudal aid. 

2. What was the attitude of William I. toward the Pope? 

3. Describe the condition of the English Church under the Conqueror. 

4. What was the purpose of the " Domesday Book " ? 

5. Describe the relative position of Norman and Saxon under the Norman kings. 

6. Name the Norman kings, with their dates. 

7. Who conquered, Norman or Saxon ? 

8. How were Norman and Saxon blended ? 

9. What was promised by the Charter of Henry I ? 

10. State the advantage to England of the Norman Conquest. 

1 1. Tell the story of the " White Ship." 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Read Johnson's " Normans in Europe," Chaps. Xllf. and XVII. These two chap- 
ters treat of the important subjects of " Anglo-Saxon Institutions," " William's Policy 
toward the Conquered," and "Norman Administration." The reigns of William 
Rufus and Henry I. are included in Chaps. XV. and XVI. 

2. " Feudalism," in the Britannica. 

3. Hallam's " Middle Ages." See index for " Feudalism." 

4. See Freeman's " Historical Essays," first series. 

5. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. I., Chap. VII., Sees. 4 to 
8 of Part I., Sees, i and 2 of Part II., Part III. entire. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Liter a tu 

1. Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 91-113. 

2. "Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 298-383. 

3. Minto's "Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 



II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. English Poets. 

a. State the real subject of Langland's Poem. 

b. How many revisions of the poem did he make, and how do they differ from one 
another? 

c. Make a list of the unfamiliar words in the first two pages of Langland's poem. If 
possible find these in your dictionary. 

d. What are the main principles of EngUsh alliterative verse? Illustrate from Lang- 
land's Vision. 

e. Why is Chaucer's epithet " moral " especially appropriate to Gower ? 
/. Give four reasons why we may not call Gower a satirist. 

g. Give the reasons why he wrote a book in each of three languages. 
h. What important difterences do you notice between the versification of Langland and 
that of Gower ? 

2. English Prose. 

a. Learn the definitions of simplicity and clearness of style from Minto, and apply 
them especially in this lesson. 

b. Make an outline of the specifications in Hallam's criticism of South, and apply them 
in the extracts. 

c. Is Defoe simple and clear? Quote a few passages in proof of your opinion. 

d. According to the methods heretofore used, determine the proportion of Anglo-Saxon 
words in Swift's vocabulary. 



/• 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

Notice that Swift's sentences are not strikingly long, short, balanced, nor periodic. 
Hence his style is more nearly normal than that of any writer we have studied, tie 
is therefore a safe model in this particular. , . , • , r r 

Swift is clear when he cares to be. Collect six examples m which, for purposes ot 
irony or satire, his meaning is hidden under figures of speech. 

g. Read Shaftesbury's Egotism in Writing for study of (i) clearness, (2) simplicity, 
(^) melody in words and phrases. u- u i, i,^..,c 

h. Notice how good Steele is in description. Cite the extract in which he shows 

i. Ste'eTe^irnote'^^orthy for his tenderness-producing pathos-and for his humor. Set 
down illustrations of this. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

I In what two ways is the poem of Piers Plowman now valuable ? , r r • 

2. Make a short paper on alliteration in English verse. Cite a few examples from Lang- 
land. Shakespeare, and Tennyson. r r^- r,? 

^ What religious conditions and opinions are reflectedin this poem of Purs Plowman ? 

I What constitutes simplicity in sfyle ? How simple are Swift S^;-ftesbury and Steele ? 

I If clearness depends bn (l) choice of words, (2) arrangement of words, ^3) connections 
of words, how clear are Swift and Steele ? Choose five sentences from each to show this. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Piers the Plowman, ed. by Skeat. Clarendon Press. 

2. Thackeray's " English Humorists." 



LESSON VI. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's "Short History," Chap. II., Sees. 7-9. 

2. Stubbs' '«The Early Plantagenets," Chaps. I-IV. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

I Notice, first, the contest for the throne after Henry I., and the disorder of Stephen's 
reign, from which the realm was to be delivered by the strong rule of the first Angevin, 

2. The honif and character of the Angevins. Sketch an outline map of English dominions 
at this period. . u ^ . 

3. The character and work of Henry II., whose reign embraced . 

^z. The constitutions of Clarendon; 

b. The contest with Becket ; 

c. The Assize of Clarendon ; 

d. The beginnings of English rule in Ireland. a- , , , r\. ,m. 
Within the range of these topics we find the irrepressible conflict between Church 

and State; the growth of the English Constitution; the beginmngs of England s 
judicial legislation, and the dawn of England's present great problem-the lush 

^"''^'' Decline of Feudalism, expansion of Scuiagc. See Stubbs' " Early Plantagenets," 



e. 

f. The ''complete amalgamation of Saxon and Norman. - Neighborhood and traffic 
■^ and intermarriage drew Enghshmen and Normans so rapidly into a single people 
that the two races soon ceased to be distinguishable from one another 

4, The romance of Richard Creur de Lion, the absentee king. See Scott s Iva^ihoe. 

5. Importance to England of the loss of Normandy. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. What lines of kings were represented in Henry IL ? ^ 

2. What did the dominion of England include in II 54 ? , t. 1 , , 

3. What were the chief points of dispute between Henry and becket." 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 1$ 

.4. In what consisted the growth of the English Constitution during Henry's reign ? 

5. Trace the rise of trial by jury. What was compurgation ? Trial by combat ? 

6. In what way did Henry's work tend to the abolition of feudalism ? 

7. For what was Stephen's reign noted ? 

8. What advantages, from a national point of view, came from the loss of Normandy ? 

9. Why was Henry called " Plantagenet " ? 

10. How long did this dynasty last ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Selections from Stubbs' •' Constitutional History of England." 

2. Mr. Froude's articles on "Thomas Becket and His Times," in the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury (1877), and Mr. Freeman's answer in the Contemporary Review (1878). 

3. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. I., Chap. VII., Sees. 3 
and 4 of Part II. Vol. II., Part I. entire, Sees, i, 2 and 3 of Part II. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 

1. Ward's "The English Poets," vol. i, pp 129-158. 

2. " Typical Selections from English Writers," vol. i, pp. 384-448. 

3. Minto's ** Manual of English Prose Literature." Introduction. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. English Poets. 

a. Learn the main facts in the life of James I. of Scotland. What bearing have these 
on his literary activity ? 

b. What will save his poem of The King^s Quhair from oblivion ? 

c. Select from the essay on Henryson at least ten critical points. If possible, attach an 
example from his verse to each of these. 

d. Owing to his dramatic talent, in what kind of composition did Henryson succeed best? 
.e. From the essay on Dunbar, draw out a statement of his faults and merits. 

/. Make notes of all mention of nature by these early Scotch poets. What natural ob- 
jects are treated most? Read on this point the poetry of Douglas, pp. 163-174, 

g. Select from the poets of this lesson several examples of humor. Are they more re- 
fined or coarser than Chaucer ? 

h. According to Arnold's principle that a poem must have " high truth and high seri- 
ousness," would you call The Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins a true poem ? 

2. English Prose. 

a. In Minto's Introduction, study the emotional qualities of style. 

b. Notice the various related qualities included under Strength, and try to learn the dis- 
tinctions between them. 

c. What is Pathos as a literary quality ? What are the two uses of Pathos ? Which is 
used most in Addison ? 

d. Wit is produced when the- ludicrous appeals to the intellect, and Humor when it 
appeals to the feelings. Try to show this by examples from Addison. 

£. Notice concerning Addison's subject and thought three things : (i) simple, practical 
subjects; (2) light, not vigorous thinking; (3) dislike of passion, romance, and 
strained or extravagant statement. Try to settle gradually how far these are charac- 
teristics of his age. 

/ Apply your principles to Addison's vocabulary. Is it large, has it many words rare 
in form or meaning ? 

g. As to clearness, Addison is called "the model of the middle style." Gather to- 
gether all your notes on clearness, state in outline the principles learned, and illus- 
trate each by a quotation from Addison. 

Ji. Addison's wit is a large part of his success. Is it gentle or harsh, constant or occa- 
sional ? Is it used with a purpose or as a mere exercise of a faculty ? 

i. Speak of Addison's melody in words and sentences. Compare, for contrast, a page 
of Carlyle's Essays. 



l6 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

III. Tests AND Reviews. 

1. What great poet did James I. imitate? Mention some particulars of his imitation. 

2. Make a short paper on the love of nature among the early Scotch poets. Cite illustra- 
tions from the work of this lesson. 

3. Make a paper of your notes on Addison as a model of English prose style. 

4. Make a paper on Addison's wit — (i), its amount ; (2), its kind; (3), its uses. 

5. What was the general quality of the thought of the essays of this period? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Courthope's "Addison," English Men of Letters Series. 

2. Thackeray's " English Humorists." 

3. Read in the Spectator widely for confirmation of the information gained on Addison's 

style. 



LESSON VIL 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's " Short History," Chap. Ill,, Sees. 1-4. 

2. Stubbs' "The Early Plantagenets," Chaps. V.-VIl. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

We have in this lesson three great topics for special attention : 

1. Literature. Note the condition of English letters under the Angevin and Norman 
kings. 

2. Learning, Study the influence of universities upon European life. Trace the rise of 
Oxford and Cambridge, showing their influence 

a. On Feudalism. 

b. On the Church. 

'* Feudalism rested on isolation. The university, on the other hand, was a pro- 
test against this isolation of man from man. It was doing what Church and Empire had 
failed to do — kitting Christian nations into a vast commonwealth." But to Dante '* Virgil 
was as sacred as Jeremiah ;" and Christian, Moslem and Jew were building together a re- 
public of learning. 

c. On the promotion of Science. The story of Roger Bacon. 

3. Politics. I. In the study of John you will notice three great conflicts : 

a. The contest with Philip of France. 

b. The contest with the Pope. 

c. The contest with the Barons. 

Be careful to know the causes of each of these conflicts, their results and their re- 
lations one to another. 

2. Analyze the Charter and inform yourself of its constitutional significance. 

You will find a copy in Creasy^ s English Constitution ; in Taswell Langmead's 
Constitutional History of England ; in the Old Soicth Leaflets, Boston. 

The characters of John, Langton, Philip and Innocent III. deserve careful 
attention. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. How long had Normandy been united with England when lost by John ? 

2. How had John's character an impoitant influence on England ? 

3. What were the civil assumptions of the Papacy in the time of John ?' Who was Pope ? 

4. What weapons did the Pope employ against John to secure his submission ? Explain 
the force which they represented. 

5. What was the cause of John's quarrel with the Pope ? With the Barons-? 

6. State Langton's services to England and to civil liberty. - 

7. What was the result of John's submission to the Pope? 

8. Why may Green say, "To the victory of Bouvines England owes her great charter"? 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 1/ 

9. State the chief provisions of Magna Carta. In what sense was it a "treaty of peace 
between the king and his people," as Stubbs says ? 

10. How did the universities influence the Church ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Stubbs' Chapter on King John. 

2. The Chapter on John and the Charter in Creasy's " English Constitution." Read the 
Charter. 

3. The Britannica on Magna Carta. 

4. Guizot's " Representative Government." 

5. Mullinger's '• History of Cambridge," (Epochs of Church Hist.) 

6. Brodrick's *• History of Oxford," (Epochs.) 

7. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. II., Chap. I. Sec. 4 of 
Part II., Parts I. II. and IV. of Chap. II. 

(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 

I. Wards "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 203-233. 
3. Scott's Ivanhoe, Chaps. I-XXI. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 

a. How do the English ballads resemble those of other European nations, and how do 
they differ from them ? 

b. What is the probable cause of the poverty of English ballad poetry ? 

c. In what particulars are the Lowland Scotch ballads superior to the English ? 

d. Give a brief history of ballad-collecting. .Mention the best collection. 

e. Learn the five divisions of ballad poetry. 

f. Is the general spirit of the ballads cheerful or gloomy ? 

g. The motives of the ballads are not religious nor spiritual. They reflect life as con- 
trolled by an impersonal fate. Find proof of this in your lesson. 

h. Have the ballads any moral tendencies? Do they in any way condemn wrong or 
encourage right ? 
3. Ivanhoe. 

a. Study all the suggestions of this and the next lesson before beginning to read the 
story. Have clearly in mind all the things to settle by the reading, and make notes 
constantly. No past and no careless reading will answer for these suggestions. 

b. A useful classification of novels is this : 

1. Historical Romances. • 

2. Pure Romances. 

3. Novels of Social Life. 

To which does our story belong ? Why ? 

c. Keep the following outline before you, and gradually settle the points in it : 

1. The story as a story — is the plot good, striking, dramatic? 

2. The characters — what is the social, intellectual and moral class of each ? Are 
they studies and representations of real characters ? What are the chief peculi- 
arities of each ? 

3. The style of the composition — is the diction copious, strong, rhythmical ? What 
of its energy and elegance ? How much humor, and of what kind ? 

4. Reflections of the author — what is his attitude toward human life and his fellow 
men ? Does he give us studies of intellectual and spiritual problems ? 

5: The story as a whole — what is its inner and larger meaning? What is its purpose? 
6. What is its general moral effect on the reader ? 

d. Notice Scott's romantic interest in the past. Where is the story's plot laid, and in 
what period ? How true to historic fact are his pictures of the times and the people ? 
Cf. Green's " History " on this latter point, 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Tell briefly what you gather from the introduction as to the composition and preserv- 
ation of ballads. 

2. Show that war and love are the only two general motives of the ballad literature, and if 

possible account for the fact. 



l8 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

3. Take the scene in Cedric's Hall in Scott's Ivanhoe, and make a picturesque description 
of the characters and customs which there appear. 

4. Taking the same scene, state how true to life and historic fact are the characters and 
the incidents portrayed, 

5. What is Scott's favorite character? How far is it idealized ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Child's " English and Scotch Ballads." 

2. Allingham's " The Ballad Book." 

3. Hutton's *' Scott." English Men of Letters Series. 

4. Lanier's '* The English Novel." 



LESSON VIIL 

(a) L Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's "Short History," Chap. IIL, Sees. 5-7. 

2. Stubbs' "Early Plantagenets," Chaps. VHL-IX. 

n. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. Notice the importance of the Thirteenth Century in European history. See Stubbs, p. 
161. 

2. Read carefully Stubbs' Chapters on Henry IIL and Simon de Montfort. 

3. Compare Stubbs' and Green's characterization of Henry IIL, noticing especially the 
King's attitude toward the Great Charter. ** So often is Liberty indebted to bad kings, 
though to them she owes no thanks." — Lieber. 

4. Study the feudal constitution of the Church and the mediaeval theory of the Papacy; the 
power of the priesthood under Innocent IIL and his successors. 

5. Observe carefully the influence of Papal exactions in England. 

6. In studying the Friars learn the significance of Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans. 
Look up the subject of early Monasticism in Church history. 

7. Make a special study of Simon de Montfort, and the establishment of Parliament. 

8. " Let the communi^ of the realm advise, and let it be known what the generality think 
on the matter." When was this principle announced, and how has advice grown into 
law ? 

9. Compare this Chapter on Montfort and the Parliament with Sec. 2, Chap. IV. and Sec. 
2, Chap. V. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. What was the nature of Papal taxation in England under Henry III. ? 

2. Describe Henry's conduct toward the Charter. 

3. What was Henry's attitude toward the foreign element in the realm ? 

4. Who was Matthew Paris ? 

5. What was Innocent's scheme of Papal aggrandizement ? 

6. Describe Montfort's Parliament. What was his purpose in calling the representatives 
of the Boroughs ? 

7. What were the provisions of Oxford ? 

8. Wherein was the chief weakness of the Great Charter, as shown in Henry's reign ? 

9. How does Stubbs characterize Henry IIL ? 

10. What benefit to England came from the Friars? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Myer's " Mediceval and Modern History," p. 281. 

2. Hallam's " Middle Ages," Chap. VII., Part IIL 

3. Creasy's "English Constitution," on The Commons. 

4. Skottowe's "Short History of Parliament." 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. I9 

5. Those Students who are especially interested in the development of the English Con- 
stitution, who wish to study the process of transformation in Anglo-Saxon government 
from the two great forces — Royalty and the Council of Barons — to that of the Parlia- 
ment of two Houses — /. e., the rise of the Third Estate in England — will find Guizot's 
" Representative Government," (Lectures 11, 12, pt. 2) full of suggestion and profit. 
Read in this connection selections from Stubbs' "Constitutional History." 

6. See Pauli's " Life of Simon de Montfort." 

■7. Maurice's Stephen Langionm. " Lives of English Popular Leaders." 
8. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. XL, Chap. IL, Part HL, 
and Sec. L of Part IV. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 

I. Ward"'s "The English Poets," vol. i, pp. 233-262. 
3.. Scott's Ivanhoe^ Chap. XXII-XLIV. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. English Poets. 

a. Note. — Some of the requirements of a good ballad are given below. In reading each 
ballad, decide how fully it fulfills these requirements. 

(i.) The story must be interesting. 

(2.) It is generally full of pathos, and sometimes of humor. 

(3.) It must have no raental . nor moral reflection or speculation. Its thought must 

not be subjective. 

(4.) Its language should be simple, clear, and strong, 
(5.) There should not be many figures; and those used should not be sufficiently 

imaginative to cause the mind to delay over them. 

(6.) The general style should be rapid, not complex, and always intent on the story. 
(70 The rhythm should be perfect. The meter is very simple, most often 8's or 6's, 

alternate rhymes. 

b. There are eleven points in our critic's statement of our debt to Wyatt and Surrey. 
Draw them out in your note-book. 

2. IVANHOE. 

a. Continue to apply the suggestions given in the last lesson. 

b. Are the conversations of Scott natural or artificial ? Are the smaller episodes true to 
life? 

c. (i) Are Scott's characters clearly outlined ? (2) Do they grow and develop? (3) 
What are his limitations of sympathy with thoughtful people, religious people, and 
women ? 

d. How does Scott's knowledge of the customs of old English society show itself here ? 
(f. Notice who make the humor in Ivanhoe — Wamba, Athelstane, Friar Tuck. Does it 

seem to be a natural quality of his style or a deliberate construction with Scott? 
'f. The emotions Scott loved to portray are the feudal virtues — (i) loyalty to a chief ; 
(2) faithful service to a master; (3) generosity of the chief; (4) friendship ; (5) 
defence of women; (6) love as a chivalri? sentiment; (7) patriolism ; (8) submis- 
sion to fate. Read with these in mind. 
g. Look for illustrations of the following points in Scott's treatment of morals and re- 
ligion. 

(I.) All his motives are worldly. 

(2.) Right triumphs, but by physical force. 

(3.) There are no spiritual developments. 

(4.) Religion and th-e Church are used only as machinery in the story. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. From the ballad Robin Bood Rescuing the IVidtrta's Three Sons, illustrate the require- 
ments of the ballad. 

:2. Read Longfellow's ballad The Wreck of the Hesperus. How does it compare with the 
Robin Hood ballad in each of the requirements. 

3. State briefly the conrtection of Wyatt and Surrey with the history of the Sonnet in Eng- 
lish. 



20 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

4. Outline the characters of Ivanhoe and of Rebecca. How great, on the whole, is Scott 
in portraying character ? 

5. In reviving the past, wherein does Scott succeed and wherein does he fail ? 

6. How much of moral and spiritual development do you notice in Scott's characters ? Can 
you account for this from his personal character ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Ruskin's " Modern Pointers," Vol. III., Part IV., Chap. XVI. 

2. Shairp's "Aspects of Poetry." 

3. Carlyle's " Miscellanies," on Scott. 



LESSON IX. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's "Short History," Chap. IV., Sees, i and 2. 

2. Stubbs' "The Early Plantagenets," Chaps. X-XII. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. The two important subjects of this lesson are : 

a. The conquest of Wales. 

b. The financial, legal and administrative reforms of Edward III. 

2. Edward I. marks the dividing line between mediaeval and modern England. Observe 
the causes of this division. 

3. Study well the condition of Wales before the conquest. Read in this connection 
Gray's poem, " The Bard." Note the race interest attached to this conquest. 

4. Make a special study of the completion of the Parliament under Edward III. 

5. Have clearly in mind what is represented by each of the several classes : Create? 
Barons, Knights of the Shire, Burgesses, Bishops. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. State briefly the legal reforms of Edward's reign. 

2. Why may modern England be said to begin with Edward ? 

3. What was the result of Edward's withholding from the attempt to recover the con- 
tinental possessions lost by John? 

4. Outline the composition of the Parliament of 1295. 

5. Who were the " Lords of Snowden " ? Was there a " massacre of the bards " ? 

6. Explain the origin of the English gentry. How did the Knights come to sit in the 
Commons instead of in the Lords? 

7. What class only was originally entitled to a seat in the Great Council ? 

8. Was the representation of the boroughs advantageous to the royal power ? Why ? 

9. What were the attitude and influence of the clergy in the first full Parliament? 

10. Why were the Burgesses originally summoned in 1265 ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Skottowe's "Short History of Parliament." 

2. Selections from Stubbs' " Constitutional History." 

3. Gray's "The Bard," and Scott's "Lord of the Isles." 

4. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. II., Parts II. and I. of 
Chap. III. 

(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 

I. Ward's "The English Poets," Vol. I., pp. 275-305. 

Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 

a. Sketch briefly the literary conditions under which Spenser began to write. 

b. Learn the titles of all the more important of Spenser's poems. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 21 

c. Give the aim and plan of the Faerie Qjiecne. 

d. Give the main points of the historical allegory conveyed in this poem and the main 
points of the moral allegory. 

e. Mention three faults of Spenser's vocabulary, and three of his style. 

/, State the peculiarities of the Spenserian Stanza as shown in the Faerie Queene. 

g. Decide whether Spenser's subjects and general treatment are on the whole real or ideal. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. State the plan of Spenser's greatest poem. 

2. Make a paper on Spenser's language — its proportion of pure English words, its use of 
rare, obsolete, and invented words. Lowell calls his language "costly." Do you 
notice this selective quality ? 

4. Illustrate fully the six faults indicated in Suggestion e. of this lesson. 

5. Why would you call Spenser a great moral teacher ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Whipple's "The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth." 

2. Church's " Spenser." English Men of Letters Series. 

3. Fleay's "Guide to Chaucer and Spenser." 



LESSON X. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 
I. Green's "Short History." Chap. IV., Sees. 3 and 4. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. In this lesson attend especially to: 

a. Edward's wars with Scotland. 

b. The rise of the English town. 

2. In the study of the first topic notice : 

a. Early relation of Scot and Pict. 

b. How Scotland became a fief of the English Crown. 

c. The cause of the Scottish war. 

d. The story of Wallace. 

3. In the study of the second topic notice : 

a. The importance of the rise of the craftsmen in the towns, " the most remarkable 
event in this period of our national history." 

b. The original difference between the English town, on the one hand, and the Ger- 
man town, the Commune of Paris, and Italian city, upon the other. 

c. How justice, liberty and charters were secured to the towns. 

d. The importance and nature of the guilds. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Give an account of the battles of Stirling and Falkirk. 

2. Relate briefly the story of the life and death of William Wallace. 

3. What significance is attached to Wallace's soldiery ? 

4. State briefly the cause of the Scottish war of Edward I. 

5. How did the personal character of Edward affect the history of his reign ? 

6. How did political privileges come to the towns ? 

7. What importance attaches to the death of the " Maid of Norway " ? 

8. How did Scotland become an English fief? 

9. Give the historical significance of the " Stone of Scone." 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Selections from Stubbs' "Constitutional History." 

2. Review the chapters on Edward I. and Edward II. in Stubbs' " Plantagenets." 

3. The "Scottish Chiefs." 

4. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. II., Chap. HI., Parts I. 
and II., Sees, i to 4 of Part III. 



22 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 
I. Ward's ''The English Poets," Vol. I,, pp. 305-340. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

I. English Poets. 

a. Is Spenser' skillful in the use of his figures of speech? For your study, collect alt 
figures used in the Boiver of Bliss. From what source does he draw his figures ? 
Are his similes elaborate and well drawn out ? 

b. What effect has a lack of humor on a writer's work ? Do you find any humor in 
Spenser ? 

c. Does Spenser often arouse the feeling of pathos? Quote a few examples. 

d. Decide from your study of the poetry whether Spenser treats nature with simple 
truthfulness, or under the light of his imagination. See description of The Cave of 
Mammon. 

e. Do you find here any study of real human nature or any reflection of actual human 
life? 

/. As a love poet, is he passionate and sincere, or formal and affected ? Read the Son- 
nets and the Epithalamion. 
g. Does Spenser teach religion and morality by direct precepts or by figures and 
abstractions ? 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Prepare a short paper on Spenser's imaginative treatment of nature. 

2. State the moral teaching which may be gathered from The Cave of Mammon and The 
Quelling of the Blatant Beast. 

3. Make a paper on the Epithalamion as a love-poem — is the love pure, is it passionate ? 
Is the conception of the object oOove noble ? Is the ideal of marriage lofty accordin 
to modern ideas ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Saintsbury's "A History of Elizabethan Literature." 

2. Lowell's Essay on Spenser, " Among My Books," Vol. II. 

3. Taine's " English Literature." 



LESSON XI. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

Green's " Short History," Chap. IV., Sees. 5 and 6. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

You will notice that the struggle between King and Barons, which formed the most im- 
portant subject of John's reign a hundred years before, still continues to be a most 
important matter. In studying this struggle under Edward II. notice 

a. The different results of a similar struggle in France. 

b. The influence of the personal character of sovereigns. 

c. The work of the *' Lord's Ordainers." 

d. The Ordinances of 1311. 

e. In review, the progress of the English Constitution, and the legal reforms under 
Edward I. See Chap. IV., Sec. 2. These relate to "The Court of Exchequer,'^ 
" Court of King's Bench," Court of Common Pleas, "Quia Emptores," etc. 

Seek to understand the significance of Bannockburn. " From this time the struggle 
for Scotland becomes part of a larger struggle." Explain. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 23 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. What can you say of English commerce under the first two Edwards ? 

2. Give an account of the persecution of the Jews under Edward II. 

3. What were the "Lord's Ordainers?" 

4. Name five charges brought by the Peers against Edward at his deposition. 

5. Explain the nature of the Qtcia Emptores. 

6. Tell the story of Bannockburn. 

7. Name the matters involved in the " Ordinances of 131 1." 

8. How long after Bannockburn, was Scotland fully united with England? 

9. What kind of a king was Edward II. ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Review Stubbs' " Plantagenet " on Edward II. 

2. Consult Stubbs' larger work on " Constitutional History." 

3. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. II., Chap. III., Sees. 5 
and 6 of Part III., Part IV. entire. 



(b) I, Required Reading in Literature. 

I. Ward's "The English Poets," Vol. I., pp. 341-364. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 

a. Does Sidney's personality or his books produce the greater .effect ? 

b. How great was Sidney's reputation among his contemporaries, and how did it fare 
after his death ? 

c. Sidney died young. What in his verse would this account for 'i 

d. Specify the three stages in the Astrophel and Stella Sonnets. 

e. Read the sonnet from Wyatt, p. 251 ; one from Surrey, p. 257 ; one from Spenser, 
p. 331 ; and one from Sidney. 

/. Determine from this, 

(i.) The advance made in using the sonnet form. 
(2.) How much clearer the writing of the latter two is. 
(3.) How much more personal the writing becomes. 
(4.) Who has the least of poetic conceits and strained expressions. 
g. A sonnet properly has a statement of a fact or thought in the first part, and a 
personal, emotional application in the second part. Analyze five of Sidney's sonnets 
with this idea, stating the fact or thought, and then the emotion. 

Ill Tests and Reviews. 

1. What in Sidney's life affected his work ? 

2. Name the things in which the sonnets of Sidney are better than those of Wyatt and 

Surrey. 

3. Write a short paper on the sonnet, showing 

(i.) Whence it came into English, and when. 

(2.) The different forms it took. 

(3.) In general, what kind of subjects have been treated in it. 

(4.) How the subject matter is divided and distributed in the sonnet. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Gummere's " Handbook of Poetics," remarks on Sonnets. 

2. Symonds* *• Sidney," English Men of Letters Series. 



LESSON XII. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 
I. Green's *' Short History," Chap. V., Sees, i and 2. 



24 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. In beginning the study of Edward III. and his reign, we shall notice 

a. The change in the use of language which has been going on for more than a hund- 
red years. English, the language of the people, now becomes the language of the 
Courts. 

b. The growth of national freedom. This has been seen in the assumption of power 
by Parliament. 

1. To control taxation. 

2. To remove a minister of the Crown. 

3. To depose a king. 

Bear these powers in mind and so work out the subjects ** a " and ** b " in their respect- 
ive details. 

2. Compare the chapter on "The Good Parliament," with Sec. 7, Chap. III., and Sec. 
2, Chap. IV. 

3. Make a special study of Chaucer and his picture of English life. 

4. Analyze the following causes of the Hundred Years' War : 

a. French interference in Scotch wars, and the chronic jealousy between France and 
England. 

b. The dispute over Guienne. 

c. Edward III.'s claim to the French throne. 

Should " the daughters of Philip's sons precede the son of Philip's daughters?" Ex- 
pose Edward's legal subtlety. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. Name four things for which the battle of Crecy is memorable. 

2. What was agreed to in the Treaty of Bretigny ? What provinces in France were given 
to the English king? 

3. What were the causes of the Hundred Years' War? 

4. Who was the chronicler of this war ? What are his merits as an historian ? 

5. Describe the formation of the two houses of Parliament as completed under Edward 
III. 

6. What would probably have resulted if the four orders in Parliament had remained sep- 
arate ? What if the knighthood and baronage had united ? 

7. The good Parliament and John of Gaunt. What reforms were urged by the one and 
opposed by the other ? 

8. Tell the story of Queen Philippa's interference at Calais. 

9. What can you say of English literature immediately after Chaucer. 

10. What were Edward's sources of wealth in the Hundred Years' War ? 

11. Give a brief account of the Black Prince. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Warburton's " Edward III., First and Second Decades." (Epoch series.) 

2. Creasy on the " Good Parliament." 

3. Gneist's " Student's History of the English Parliament," p. 271, et seq., oi) the separ- 
ation of the two Houses. 

4. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. 11., Chap. IV. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 

Ward's "The English Poets," Vol. I., pp. 394-423. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
, English Poets. 

a. What does Minto call " the essence of euphuism ?" 

b. Had Lyly any great influence on later literature ? 

c. What kind of a moral life did Greene live ? Did this show itself in his verse ? 

d. Your critic notes that Greene was deeply moved by sentimental beauty. Look out 
an illustration of this among the poems, (i) of men and women, (2) of physical 
nature. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 2$. 

e. What was Greene's art in the use of various kinds of verse ? 

f. What is the subject of each of the poems given ? In this matter, wherein does he 
belong to his age ? 

g. State clearly Marlowe's characteristics as a man. 

h. Four things are said of Marlowe as a writer of plays: 

(l.) Of his divergence from classical drama. 

(2.) Of his use of blank verse. 

(3.) Of his peculiar treatment of the ruling passion of a play. 

(4.) Of his use of language. 
[Set down each of these fully. If you have time, read a few plays of Marlowe with 
these in mind, and make a comparison on these points between him and Shakespeare.] 
/. How applicable to Marlowe's style is the phrase, " lift upward ? " Why? 
/. In what is Marlowe said to resemble Keats ? 
k. Memorize The Passionate Shepherd to His Love. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. How is the young poetic life of Elizabeth's time illustrated in Greene ? If a paper can 

be made, let it show, 
(i.) What are the characteristics of this vigorous life. 
(2.) What it all seeips due to. 

(3.) What statement and public events it produced. 
(4.) How it made colonization and international ideas. 
(5.) Its effect on manners and social life. 
(6.) How it affected learning and education. 
(7.) Its influence and results in poetry. 

2. State Marlowe's position (i) with reference to the development of the drama, and (2) 

in relation to Shakespeare. 

3. In reference to Marlowe, your critic mentions four "makings of a great poet," and five 

failings. Name them. Do you find the statements borne out in the extracts ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Ward's " English Dramatic Literature." 

2. Saintbury's *' A History of Elizabethan Literature." 



LESSON -XIII. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's " Short History," Chap. V,, Sees. 3 and 4. 

2. Poole's " Wycliffe and Movements for Reform." 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. Make a special study of the life and character of Wycliffe, the last of the schoolmen, 
the first of the Reformers. He is one of the great characters of history, and to under- 
stand what his work represents is to understand the beginning and essential elements 
of the Reformation. 

2. Look up the general condition of the Papacy at this time. Abuses, extortion, foreign 
priests in England. The Babylonish captivity. The subsequent Councils for securing 
Church unity and reformation. 

3. Fix in mind the fundamental doctrines of Wycliffe. 

4. Connect the account of the peasants' revolt with other movements toward political 
equality and popular rights. 

5. Observe the modification of the manorial system which had gradually taken place. 

6. Notice the condition of the '* Labor Problem " in 1350 — the beginning of the contest 
between capital and labor. See Mackenzie's " Nineteenth Century," and Thorold 
Rogers' " Work and Wages. A History of Labor." Professor Rogers considers the 
fourteenth century "the golden age of the working classes." 



26 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

I. What were the essential doctrines of WycUffe ? Why was he at first supported by 

John of Gaunt ? ^ ,. , ,. ., 

2 "What place does Wyclifife occupy in Enghsh literature ? 

3. What abuses called forth Wycliffe's appeal for reformation ? i_-,i,Hnn nn 

4. What was the nature of England's labor troubles, 1350? What was the legislation on 

the subject? -r.i 1 i-. %. r, 

5. What were the nature and effects of the Black Death .-' 

6. What was the effect of the preaching of John Ball ? 

7. Give a brief sketch of the insurrection of Wat Tyler. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 



1 Thorold Rogers' " History of Labor," on the labor troubles of 1350. 

2 Warburton's - Edward III." Third, fourth and fifth decades, pp. 144-256. 

I Lanier's- Boys' Froissart" is a good selection from this well known chronicler of 

4 Lo'ng'iTn'r' lul'LlTLes of Edward III." contains a full history of his reign, 
t Maurice's " Lives of English Popular Leaders. Tyler, Ball and O Ideas tie. 
6: Chaulauqua Library of English History and Literature, Ch^p. L, -The Rising of the 
Commons," and Chap. IV. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 
. Ward's " The English Poets," Vol. I., pp. 424-449- 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

. English Poets. 

a What are some of the characteristics of the light romances of Lodge ? 
d How was this " elegant literature " serviceable in the development of our verse ? 

1 'wF^Zt^sl^^ll orShaTesVe^ar^e's'^L^. an, A.onis ? How is this characteristic 

of his age ? , • ., • 

e What two things does Shakespeare attempt to do in this poem ? 
/. In what points is Lucrece superior to- Venus and Adonis . 
i Study well the remark of Coleridge on Venus and Adorns. Try to point out in the 

poem illustrations of this " delight in richness and sweetness ot sound 
k. What poets did Shakespeare borrow from in writing these two poems i 
L Go through the extract from Lucrece and mark all references to nature. Then de- 

termine, 
(I ) What elements are touched upon. 

(2.) How much of color is given and how skillfully it is done. 
(7) Whether nature is used in description or in figures. 
(A \ Whether she is treated for herself or in the moods of the poet 
J. With what quality of his writing did Shakespeare delight his first readers ? 

III. Tests and Review. 

[. What kind of subjects did Shakespeare treat when he began to write ? How is this 

characteristic of the age, and how of him ? r . ^^ a -i 

^. Wha' are the things in fangnage and in style in which Shakespeare first excel ed 
,, , r ° i. ci,„Uz:>,^,^a<.r<='c atfitnf p toward nature in his tirst w 



What are the things in language and in style in vvnicn f '^'^'^"l^^'^'; :''.;V-V::" „-_i. 
Make a paper of your notes on Shakespeare's attitude toward nature in his first work. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 



\. Hudson's " Shakespeare's Life, Art, and Characters." 
2. Dowden's " Shakespeare— His Mind and Art." 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 27 

LESSON XIV. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's "Short History," Chap. V., Sees. 5 and 6. 

2. l^oole s *' Wychffe and Movements for Reform." 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

I. This lesson continues the subject of Lollardism. Read carefully Poole's " Wvcliffe " 
comparmg it with Green's remarks on the Lollards ^ Wyclitte, 

^' Pbwm'an.'^' ^'"^'"'^ °^ ^"^^''^ ^'^' ^' '""" ^^ ^^^^""' ^^^^ "^^^ ^^^^ ^^ " Piers' 

3. Study Wycliffe in connection with John Huss. See Poole : - Wycliffe's true tradition 

eaS an?' iV" r '^ ^'TV^'^T-^' }""' ^^ ^°^^^^^' ^^ere his^ works were eagerly 
IZi^ niultiphed and where his disciple, John Huss, with less originality bu^ 

n tv o7naZ. 1 ^°^'^^>'''n ^"u^ ^r^'''' ^P^"^^^^ f^-"^^' '^^'^^ Wycliffism to the'dig! 
nity of national religion."— Dr. Poole in Jincyc. Brit ^ 

'■ lo^^T^'^l^lll^^'"'''^''' of Lancastrian and Yorkist disputes, as seen at the de- 

^' g°^^'^^/^ r"^^^°g*^^^ ^^^^^^- ^"^h as may be found in Ploetz's - Epitome of Universal 

t pf^ifll^? difference in the French war of Henry IV. and that of Edward II 
7- Read Shakespeare's - R)chard II." for a contemporary account of this time. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 
I. Describe the England revealed in " Piers' Plowman." 

^* ^r ^ ^"^^ ^^^^^^ °^ ^^^ ^i^e ^^^ ^e^^h of John Huss. 

3. What was the Statute of Pramicnire under Richard II ^ 

"^^ Sr^ ^ ^"^^ ^^^^^^ °^ Henry's French war. Agincourt. 

5. What were the purpose and effect of the " Statute of Heretics "? 

)^hat was the significance of the battle of Shrewsbury > 
7. What was the nature of the task before the Council of Constance ? 
«. What was the social condition of France at the accession of Henry V. of England ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

I. Gairdner's- Houses of Lancaster and York." (Epoch series.) Chaps. I-VII Esoeci 
ally pages 90-96 on the Lollards and 1 18-128 on John Huss and Council of Constance" 
Professor Poole's article on Wychffe in the Encyc. Brit '^onstance. 

I \ltlZll^t"^^ of Wycliffe " (2 Vols.) gives a more comprehensive view. 

forma^Z " ^^^^S^^on's - History of the Papacy During the Period of the Re- 



6, 



^' ^h^n!^''T'^^^^v'^'^^^^?"^^^'^ History and Literature, Vol. III., Introduct 
v^naps. i., 11,, V. ana Vi. 



ion, and 



(b) L Required Reading in Literature. 
I. Ward^s "The English Poets," Vol. I., pp. 450-466. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 
a. Finish the study of Dowden's Introduction 

c. Notice Dowden's account of the experience recorded in the Sonnets. Read the Son- 
nets, trying to decide at what stage of this experience each sonnet was wrkten 



28 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 

d. What view of Shakespeare's own personality do you get from the Sonnets ? Cf., for 
an example, the phase of character reflected in No 's 294, 66, 73. 

e. What is the form of the Shakesperian Sonnet ? How does it differ from the Italian 
form ? Compare them as to form and substance with those of Wyalt and Surrey. 

/. Analyze sonnets 33, 54, 116, distinguishing between the statement of the fact or 

thought and the personal application of it. See Lesson XI. 
g. The requirements of a good song are these : 

(I.) It must be full of feeling, not of thought. 

(2.) It must have only one dominant feeling. 

(3.) It must be simple in style and expression. 

(4.) It must be brief. 

(5.) The meter must be perfect and appropriate to the feeling. 

Judge how completely each of the songs given fulfills these conditions. 
h. In what kinds of plays do we find very little song ? Why is this ? 
/. Is there always a reason for the songs Shakespeare introduces into the plays ? What 
are some of the purposes they serve ? 

III. Tests and Reviews- 

1. Write a paper on the autobiographical character of Shakespeare's Sonnets. As a prep- 
aration for this, read, if possible, all the Sonnets. 

2. Select the best one of the songs given in your lesson, and tell how it fulfills the require- 
ments of a good song. 

3. Read, in the plays in which they occur, the first six songs given in your lesson„ and 
tell why each is appropriate in its place. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Shakespeare's Sonnets, edited by Rolfe. 

2. Giles' " Human Life in Shakespeare." 



LESSON XV. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's *' Short History," Chap. VI., Sees, i and 2. 

2. Poole's " Wycliffe and Movements for Reform." 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1 . The lesson has to do chiefly with 

a. The continuation of the Hundred Years' War with France. 

b. The War of the Roses. On the progress and results of these wars try to consult 
Gairdner's "The Houses of Lancaster and York," and compare his account with 
Green's. 

2. Do not waste energy on the details of the War of the Roses — " a shameful and selfish 
contest " among the nobility of England, repre^ enting *• a sad and sombre age." 

3. But analyze in your reading the essential facts to be remembered, as 

1. The causes of the wars, including, 

a. The claim of the Lancastrians. 

b. Influences in favor of the Yorkists. 

c. Results of Hundred Years' War. 

2. The chief persons engaged (the claimants and the king maker.) 

3. The chief battles. 

4. Results. 

5. Influence on the English Constitution. 

4. Study the Genealogy of the Lancastrians and Yorkists to Edward III. See Ploetz's 
"Epitome of Universal History," p. 273, or Gairdner's "Lancaster and York," p. 
223. 

5. Study the life of Jean d'Arc. 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 29 

6, On the Wars of Henry V. and Henry VI. read Shakespeares "Historical Dramas" 
which celebrate these reigns. 
" That Shakespeare is not only the best, but the only tolerable historian of the wars 
waged by the Roses against France and against each other, has passed from a sportive 
jest into almost a serious article of our received literary creed." (Sir James Stephen, 
"Lectures on France," Vol. I.,p. 380. ) But despite Shakespeare's representation, the 
" wars of Henry V. were amongst the greatest crimes which disgrace the annals of Chris- 
tendom, as they drew down upon England, in, her own civil wars, one of the most swift 
and fearful examples of Providential retribution. (Stephen.) Consult Gairdner's "Hist- 
ory of Richard III,," which, in the main, supports Shakespeare's view. 

HI. Tests and Reviews. 

1. What abuses existed among the English nobility in the first part of the fifteenth cen- 
tury ? 

2. What were the results of the Hundred Years' War on England ? On France ? 

3. On which side were the Towns in the War of the Roses ? 

4. Name the influences in favor of the Yorkist claim. 

5. What force in history is represented by Joan of Arc ? 

6. W^hat relation exists between the War of the Roses and the subsequent absolutism of 
the Tudors ? 

7 Give a sketch of the " King-maker." 

8. What fair claim had Henry VI. to the thione ? 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Lecture XII., Stephen's " Lectures on France," Vol. I. 

2. Gneist's *' Student's History of the Enghsh Parliament," pp. 188-209. 

3. Gairdner's "Houses of Lancaster and York," Chap. VI. 

4. Balwer's " The Last of the Barons," (Warwick.) 

5. Chautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. III., Chap. VII. 



(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 
I. Ward's "The English Poets," Vol. I., pp. 486-509. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 
I. English Poets. 

a. In what respect is Raleigh truly represensative of the Elizabethan period ? 

b. What effect on his literary work had his imprisonment and other misfortunes ? 

c. Read Marlowe's The 'Passionate Shepherd to His Love in connection with Raleigh's 
reply to it. Which poem has more thought, which more feehng ? Which is less 
artificial ? 

d. What experiences in Raleigh's life are probably reflected in The Lie! How does 
this account for the tone of the poem ? 

e. Learn the names of the various Elizabethan Miscellanies, and any important facts 
connected with each. 

/. Some of the characteristics of the Elizabethan poetry are these : 

1. Abundant imagination. 

2. Free choice of subjects. 

3. An emphasis of the personal, emotional qualities of human nature. 

4. Use of literary conceits. 

5. Strange and forced figures of speech. 

6. A somewhat bombastic style. 

7. An intense interest in all human life. 

8. Much treatment of love. 

Look for these characteristics in the poetry from the Miscellanies. 



30 ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 



III. Tests and Reviews 



How do you account for the generally gloomy tone of Raleigh's work ? Illustrate. 
Illustrate trom the selections from the Miscellanies the characteristics of Elizabethan 
poetry numbered above i, 4, 5, 6, 7. 

Speak of the treatment of love in these poems — is it true to life, is it simple, is it noble, 
is it real for our day ? 



LESSON XVI. 

(a) I. Required Reading in History. 

1. Green's "Short History," Chap. VI., Sec. 3. 

2. Poole's " Wycliffe and Movements for Reform." 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

1. The final lesson, closing the civil wars and bringing us to Henry VII., introduces us to 
the nature of the Tudor absolutism. It explains the despotism arising with Edward 
IV. Compare the subsequent absolute government with Parliamentary government 
of earlier reigns. It is very important to notice the constitutional bearing of this period. 

2. Notice the condition and relative influence of the various classes in the State, the 
crown, the nobles, the Commons, the landowners and the merchants. 

3. Make a special study of the influence of Caxton and his Printing Press, and the state 
of literature at this period. 

4. Fix in mind the significance of Bos worth Field and the character of Richard III. 

5. Study the influence of the social changes which had occurred in the previous hundred 
years, and of the great inventions. See Buckle's " History of Civilization in England," 
on the use of Gunpowder, the Mariner's Compass, and the Printing Press. 

6. Inform yourself on contemporary European history. 

III. Tests and Reviews. 

1. What new dynasty came out of the Civil Wars ? 

2. Explain how the Roses enabled the Crown to become entirely the dominating power in 
government. 

3. Compare the reign of Edward IV. with those of the Lancastrians in respect to Parlia- 
mentary government. 

4. What influence had gunpowder on Feudalism and standing armies ? 

5. Explain the influence of Caxton on English letters. 

6. What was Edward VI. 's great source of wealth ? 

7. What was decided at Bosworth Field ? 

8. Explain this passage : " When the lawyers of the Long Parliament fell back for the 
precedents of constitutional liberty to the reign of the House of Lancaster and silently 
regarded this whole period (1461-1642) as a blank, they expressed not merely a legal 
truth, but an historical one." 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

1. Gairdner's " Houses of Lancaster and York," Chaps. VIII. -XI. 

2. Ctiautauqua Library of English History and Literature, Vol. III., Chaps. VIII., IX. 
and X. 

(b) I. Required Reading in Literature. 
I. Ward's "The English Poets," vol. 1, pp. 510-525, and 558-565. 

II. Suggestions in Aid of Reading. 

I. English Poets. 
a. In what respects does the poetry of the later Elizabethan period resemble the Alex- 
andrian phase of Greek poetry? 



ENGLISH HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 3 1 

b. On what does Chapman's reputation now rest? What are the merits and what the 
faults of his translation of Homer ? 

c. Give the two names for the school to which Donne belongs, and teli why they are 
appropriate. 

d. Donne's poetry illustrates the excess of the Elizabethan tendency toward extrava- 
gance in thought and literary conceits. Find examples of these faults in his verse. 

Summaries of Vol. i . 

e. Mention the three greatest poets in the period covered by this volume. 

/. Mention the three greatest poems (not dramas) produced in the same period. 

g. Divide all the poets studied in this period into three classes according to their merits. 

h. Try to make a statement of the advance : 

(i.) Of our language as a medium for poetry. 

(2.) In the variety and excellence of our meters. 

(3.) Of the interest in more elements of human nature and the power with which 
they are given. 

III. Tests akd Reviews. 

1 . What things mark the metaphysical school of English poetry ? How does Donne stand 
in reference to it? 

2. Write a paper on the most noticeable characteristics of the Elizabethan poetry. Give 
two illustrations of each point from the poetry of Spenser, Sidney, Marlowe, Shakes- 
peare, and Donne. 

IV. Recommended Reading. 

I. Gosse's " A History of Eighteenth Century Literature." 




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